


Homework

by ItsaVikingThing



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Gentle feels, Humour, Quick inconsequential fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 01:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13089546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsaVikingThing/pseuds/ItsaVikingThing
Summary: Max is trying to do her homework.But Rachel and Chloe need her help with something first...





	Homework

Max is doing homework in her dorm room, frantically trying to finish any of the five things due tomorrow that she's somehow managed to leave until today. She's so busy working in the glow of her laptop that she barely notices when the sun slinks beneath the horizon and her room gets dark.

A voice politely asks, "Would you like your lamp on?"

If Max doesn't jump entirely out of her chair, it's only because her body lacks the athleticism her panic is demanding of her in the moment. Max almost knocks her chair over getting up and spinning round, heart thumping. Intelligently she says, "Waah! Wh-who wurgh?"

The lamp clicks on, illuminating Rachel Amber in all her glory. It's a phrase which Max always thought sounded sarcastic, having never encountered anyone who warranted the use of the word 'glorious' before.

Until she met Rachel.

From her knowing hazel eyes, her shimmering blonde locks, her smoky voice, the way she can make jeans and a punk band t-shirt look like high couture by the powerful alchemy of simply wearing them, her gently caustic wit, the way she seems to be about five steps ahead in any given moment...Max would never say it aloud -- she's uncomfortable even thinking it this close to Rachel -- but 'glorious' is a word that fits Rachel as well as her hand-distressed skinny jeans do.

Rachel smiles and spreads her hands apologetically. "Just me, Max!"

It's _almost_ reassuring. Rachel is Chloe's friend, and that makes her Max's friend. Max is...pretty sure. And it does make sense of the situation; Rachel tends to consider other people's closed doors as a personality flaw she's willing to indulge only up to a point. 

Max puts the old hardback she finds herself clutching back on her desk. She tries to lean nonchalantly on the back of her chair, misses with her hand, and settles for leaning awkwardly on her elbow. "H-hey, Rachel! Uh...what brings you here?"

Rachel's smile widens and she advances slowly on Max. "Well, I came to see if the rumours were true..."

Max wonders if Victoria's been spreading more mean lies. Or if Rachel's talking about the photography contest that Max is absolutely, definitely, maybe never going to enter. Or...maybe the rumour's gotten around that Max likes girls. Because, as Max has discovered in the last few months...

Max swallows when Rachel pauses on the brink of what Max is suddenly very, very aware is her personal space. Rachel slides gracefully past Max, easing through that space without quite touching Max, and seats herself on Max's desk.

Rachel props her elbow on the edge of Max's shelving unit and leans her head against the palm of her hand. Long blonde hair cascades over her face and shoulder. With an absent gesture, Rachel brushes her hair behind her ear, smoothing it and wafting a faint scent of jasmine in Max's incredibly proximate direction. She locks her eyes onto Max's, and smiles warmly.

...yeah. Max likes girls.

Max swallows. "R-rumours?"

Rachel's smile edges into a smirk. "You see Max, I need...an angel of mercy."

Max blinks. "Uh...Kate's down the hall?"

If Max wasn't hyperaware of Rachel's...everything, she might miss the way Rachel's expression falters for a fraction of a second. Or the way her eyes briefly sharpen and scrutinise Max's face.

Max straightens up and fiddles with the hem of her t-shirt. 

Rachel relaxes, shaking her head. "I heard you had a first aid kit, Max. I need to borrow it, if that's okay?"

"Oh! Sure!" Max frowns. "Are you okay?"

Rachel nods. "I'm fine. Chloe's had a little accident, is all..."

This time Max does knock her chair over, rushing to grab the kit.

* * *

Max finds Chloe hovering outside Rachel's dorm room. She's clutching her right elbow with her left hand. 

"Rachel! You made her wait in the _hall_?"

Rachel touches Max's arm, making Max pause and look back at her. Rachel looks almost embarrassed. "I told her to wait in my room! But you know how Chloe can be..."

Chloe stomps up the hall to meet them. "It's nothing! Chill, drama queens!" There's dirt on her cheek, fresh rips in her jeans. Max can see more smudges of dirt on the worn blue fabric and the pale skin of her thighs. Her fingers are bloody. Blood trails sticky and too bright down her forearms.

Max gapes at her. "That's a lot of blood for _nothing_ , Chlo! Come on, bathroom! Now!"

Max grabs Chloe's belt and hauls her, protesting, to the toilets. She's too busy fretting about Chloe to process Rachel's expression as she holds the door open for them, other than to note that it looks kinda odd.

It takes some wrangling to get Chloe's lean frame and lanky limbs over a sink but in the end she gracelessly allows Max to clean the blood and dirt off her arms with an alcohol wipe. Rachel perches on the sinks to Max's side with the first aid kit in her lap, gently kicking her heels and hunting through the jumble for gauze and tape.

"Skating mishap?" Max asks.

"Badass tax," Chloe and Rachel answer in unison. They exchange a look and a grin.

Max's shoulders hunch, entirely without her permission. She takes a fresh wipe and goes to work on the cut on Chloe's elbow, clearing away grit and dried blood. Fresh blood trickles out and Chloe hisses in pain. "Sssson of a David!"

"Language," chides Rachel.

Max winces, looking up at Chloe. "Sorry!"

Chloe meets her eyes, quickly smoothing out her expression. "It's fine. Don't worry about it, Max."

"Aha! I have you now, gauze! And this looks like...wait!" Rachel's voice trembles between horror and delight. "What is _this_?"

Max looks over and begins the death of a thousand embarrassments. "O-oh...uh...yeah...that's the only tape I have," she admits, weakly.

Rachel is holding up a small roll of surgical tape, the back of which is decorated by the oft repeated image of a poorly drawn and obscenely cheerful deer. "Oh. Em. Gee! Chloe, your war wound is going to look amazing!"

Chloe bites her lip. "A plaster will do..."

Max flushses. "I don't think I have any-"

"Except the Spongebob ones," Rachel says, holding up the offending packet.

Max withers.

Chloe looks at the oozing cut in the mirror. "Uh...it'll air dry?"

"It's an open wound, not your hair after a shower. Suck it up, Price!" Rachel passes Max the gauze, her soft fingers brushing lazy warmth across Max's skin for a moment that seems just an instant longer than is strictly necessary. "Besides...it's cute."

She winks at Max.

Max blushes and twitches. She carefully applies the gauze to Chloe's elbow and just as carefully avoids looking at anything as dangerous as either of the other girls' eyes.

Chloe sighs. "Max. Just say it."

Max blinks and makes the mistake of looking up. Chloe's staring at her, her lips wearing an expectant smirk. Her eyes...

Chloe isn't glorious. She doesn't smell like a flower. She smells like blood, sweat, dirt, and almost every happy memory of Max's childhood. She doesn't wear clothes well. She wears them like a _fuck you_ aimed at most of the world. Chloe is rarely thinking about _this_ step, let alone worrying about any of the ones ahead. No, she's too busy _feeling_ every moment she lives for that shit. Her eyes are blue. They're often guarded. But not right now. Right now, they're open, and full of...affection. Warmth. Something else Max thinks she must be imagining. 

She wrenches her gaze away because...yeah. Max likes girls. 

Two of them, at the very least.

"S-say what?"

Chloe grins. She holds the gauze in place. "What you've been wanting to say since Rachel said your deer tape is cute."

Rachel quirks an eyebrow at Max. She pulls a length of tape from the roll and bites it off with a quick flash of her perfect teeth.

Max swallows, accepting the tape. "It's not cute...it's a _doe_ rable..." She quickly turns away, avoiding Rachel's expression, and busies herself taping the gauze in place.

Chloe sighs happily and reaches across her body with her now free left hand to awkwardly ruffle Max's hair. "Nerd," she says, fondly.

Rachel snorts, presage to a series of breath-rupturing giggles. "Oh...oh, _no_! No! That's...that's _terrible_!"

Max tries to gently pry the tape from Rachel's fingers while she's apparently incapacitated. Rachel quickly shakes her head, curling her fingers around the tape and Max's hand. She takes a breath, composing herself, and says, "I love it, Max. Here."

She releases Max's hand, bites off another length of tape, and passes it to Max. Max smiles nervously at her, hesitating. " Thanks, Rachel. "

Chloe coughs. "Uh...remember the girl with the open wound over here?"

Max rolls her eyes at Chloe. "Don't worry, you're unforgettable." She sticks the tape in place.

Rachel begins packing things away neatly in the kit. "You are! There's the noise, the smell..."

"The eating habits," Max adds.

"Hey! Double _hey_!" Chloe's outrage would be more impressive if she wasn't obviously trying not to grin.

Rachel closes the kit with a snap and hops off the sink. "Come along, Price. You're all patched up. And if you're good, there might be ice cream in your future..."

Chloe hesitates. "And bacon?"

Rachel rolls her eyes and sighs ostentatiously. She casually props an elbow on Max's shoulder and rests her chin on her knuckles. She looks into Max's eyes. "What are we going to do with her, hmm?"

Max hopes it isn't screamingly obvious that she's trembling and internally screaming. "Um...I think you should get her some bacon...?"

Chloe laughs, triumphant. She ruffles Max's hair again. "Thanks, Max! This is why you're my favourite!"

Even if Max wasn't hyperaware of Rachel in that moment, she doesn't think she'd miss the way Rachel's expression falters for a second.

"Um..."

Rachel straightens up, moving away from Max. "You're not coming with us?"

Max sighs. "So much homework...sorry guys."

Chloe groans. "Shit. School's an asshole. Well..." Chloe pats Max's head, gently smoothing down her hair. She smiles gently at Max. "Thanks for the medical assist."

Max just nods, not quite trusting herself to speak.

Rachel frowns and taps her chin with a finger. "Okay, well...I guess we'll see you soon, Max."

"If I survive this all-nighter...hopefully..." Max takes the kit from Rachel, who parts with it almost reluctantly. "Have a good night, guys."

They go their separate ways, Rachel and Chloe to the latter's truck in search of bacon and ice cream, and Max to her room.

Max puts away the kit, turns on her stereo, picks up her chair, sits at her desk, groans, and drops her head into her hands and gives herself five minutes to fluster and panic.

* * *

About an hour later, Max is in serious danger of finishing an English assignment when her door bursts open. She spins round, gaping, to see Chloe and Rachel piling into her room.

They're both grinning and laden with a variety of food and drink containers.

"Uh...guys...?"

Rachel levels a greasy bag at her. " _You_ , Maxine Caulfield, are not pulling an all-nighter without us. We have brought supplies and I'm ready to assist with anything you're struggling with!"

"Um..."

"I'm just here for immoral support," Chloe says with a shrug. "And to take over your stereo, 'cause this sad indie shit has to stop."

Chloe heedlessly dumps a bunch of containers on Max's bed and starts hunting through Max's meagre collection of discs, making disgusted noises.

"Chloe!"

Rachel approaches Max, placing a coffee and a bag of what looks like doughnuts beside her. "Hey. If you want us to go, we'll go."

"I won't!" Chloe declares cheerfully.

Rachel rolls her eyes. "We _will_. If that's what you need. But...the better choice is to let us stay. What do you say, Max?"

Max looks at them. Chloe's pretending to read the back of a CD but she's watching Max carefully. Rachel's smiling, but there's almost something...nervous there.

Max isn't sure why, but somehow, she finds herself relaxing. "Thanks so much. Both of you. Make yourselves at home."

Chloe whoops and promptly tugs off her boots, tossing them casually into the corner.

Rachel sighs and meets Max's eyes. "What _are_ we going to do with her?"

And even Max can't miss the slight edge in that question, in Rachel's stance.

Max smiles softly. "I don't know, but...we can probably figure it out together, right?"

Rachel slowly smiles. "Good answer, Max."

Chloe suddenly appears, slinging an arm over Rachel's shoulders and leaning forward to ruffle Max's hair. "What are we talking about?"

"Homework," Max and Rachel say in unison.

Chloe snorts. "Yeah, you should probably do that. Before I get bored."

Max shakes her head. "It's going to take more than five minutes, Chlo!"

"You wound me, Max! Buuut you also patch me up, so whatevs! Ooh, doughnuts!"

Chloe pounces on the bag on Max's desk and heads back to the stereo. Rachel lowers herself smoothly to the floor and pats the space next to her.

Max grabs her laptop and joins her.

"So, what are you working on?" Rachel asks, peering at the screen.

Max smiles. At her. At Chloe. At everything. "Nothing we can't handle," she promises.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't really written anything in a week, so this is just me priming the pumps for All The Things I need to write this weekend. Sorry it's so rough! Hope you had some kind of enjoyment with it, anyway! :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! See you soon!


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